1991 BV Cabernet Sauvignon Georges de Latour Private Reserve
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Tasting notes
95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot. Cold winter, cool summer and long hang time (picked 20 September to 14 October). 20 months in 50% American, 50% French oak. RS 1.5 g/l, TA 6.3 g/l, pH 3.42. This was the first year that the wine was not aged in 100% American oak (ex-Bourbon barrels, washed with soda ash). It smells of mushrooms and blackcurrants. With the frame of beautifully resolved tannins, the fruit is fading and acidity is high. Tea leaves, tobacco and blood oranges. Fresh and fragrant. Just a little bit hollow in the middle, although coming after a number of very opulent, young BV wines, its age and lack of fruit might be exaggerated by context. I'd love to have tasted this and the 1975 first, at the start of the evening. (TC)
Critic scores
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Tipping into its tertariy phase, this was a wet vintage with cool nights, and it is majoring on tobacco, dried roses, undergrowth, mint and autumnal fruits at this point, still with a lovely freshness that holds it all together. At the height for drinking, as the aromatics start off strong but soften out after 10 minutes or so, although there is still grip on the palate. Old school, with balance and charm, a window into old school Napa. Joel Aiken winemaker, who learnt under the legendary André Tchelistcheff. This was the first vintage that they added a touch of Merlot to a wine that had been 100% Cabernet Sauvignon since launch. Also the first vintage where they added French oak, instead of just American, at this point around 50/50.
1991 saw the end of a four-year drought, producing a bumper crop that led to a late harvest. Blended of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon with 5% Merlot, the 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve Georges de Latour was matured for 20 months in 50% French and 50% American oak barrels. Medium to deep brick in color, the nose sings of cherry cordial, warm cassis, bay leaves and chocolate mint with wafts of underbrush, smoked meats and black olives. Medium-bodied with an alcohol of 13.3%, the palate offers an excellent concentration of herb-laced black fruit preserves, supported by chewy tannins, finishing with loads of earth, mineral and savory sparks. 9,100 cases were made.
Dark red with ruby tones. Complex, expressive nose offers dark fruits, licorice, exotic spices, herbs, minerals and tobacco, plus a sexy note of oak char. Then quite dry and classic in a claret-like style, conveying a silky texture and lovely subtle sweetness if not quite the concentration or thickness of the more evolved 1990. Finishes with plush tannins, noteworthy vibrancy and impressive rising length. This is a point today but should hold for a while. Again, this bottle was altogether different from--and cleaner than--two that I tasted last year as part of a 1991 horizontal. (13.3% alcohol; 3.42 pH; 6.3 g/l acidity; aged for 20 months in a blend of American and French oak barrels)
About the producer
Beaulieu Vineyard remains one of the most historically important wineries in Napa Valley. It is it one of the longest continuous running wineries in the region, as one of the few that kept operating throughout Prohibition.